Home Health & Hospice Week
Providers Fear Medicare Advantage Trickle-Down Rates
MA plans must pay providers fairly, trade group urges. While many home health providers aren’t happy with Medicare Advantage payers, reduced MA rates from Medicare aren’t going to help in the short term. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will increase MA plans’ reimbursement by 3.7 percent in 2025, according to a rate announcement released on April 1. That is less than in recent years, and providers fear they’ll bear the brunt of the lower rates. “We must address the fact that CMS pays more for Medicare coverage provided to beneficiaries through MA plans (estimated to be 20.1 percent higher according to MedPAC’s January 2024 Medicare Advantage Status Report) than fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare, while these overpaid plans pay providers like skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies less than they would receive to provide the same level of care in Medicare FFS,” laments LeadingAge CEO Katie Smith Sloan on the trade group’s website. Links to the announcement and related materials are at www.cms.gov/medicare/payment/medicare-advantage-rates-statistics/announcements-and-documents/2025.
Home Health & Hospice Week
- Hospice:
Medicare Hospice Rate Increase Gets Thumbs Down Across The Industry
Plus: Watch out for stealth payment provision. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is [...] - Quality:
Long Time-Coming HOPE Tool Nearly Cleared For Takeoff
What’s the rush? After years of talking about it, hospices may soon be filling out [...] - Compliance:
Clarifications On Physician Hospice Issues Welcome
CAHPS revisions, NOE/election statement clarifications addressed — but not the Special Focus Program. While payment [...] - Regulations:
Review Choice Demonstration Hits 11th Hour With No Extension
Plus: VBP, Care Compare, CAHPS addressed in forum. The clock is ticking down to the [...] - Enrollment:
May 1 Deadline For Physician Enrollment Is Making Hospices Nervous
Get used to checking the ordering and referring data file often. When hospices got a [...] - Health IT:
UnitedHealth-Change Healthcare Turmoil Continues
Get an ADR breather for 90 days. If you want an idea of how much [...] - Industry Notes:
Providers Fear Medicare Advantage Trickle-Down Rates
MA plans must pay providers fairly, trade group urges. While many home health providers aren’t [...] - Industry Notes:
Beware Electronic File Problems When It Comes To One HHH MAC's Billing
Don’t let a payment system glitch delay your reimbursement. The problem: HHH Medicare Administrative Contractor [...] - Industry Notes:
Get Vital OASIS-E1 Data Details In Upcoming Educational Call For Vendors
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will hold an OASIS vendor call about OASIS-E1 [...] - Industry Notes:
NAHC-NHPCO Merger Proceeds To Next Step
The merger of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice and the National Hospice [...]
